Goddess Freya: Goddess of love and death

Freya's themes are devotion, strength, the sun, magic and fire. Her symbols are all lions and strawberries. In Nordic heritage, Freyja's name means 'lady'. Broadly speaking, it is Her domain to look after matters of the heart. In mythology, Goddess Freya is remarkably beautiful, a mistress to the gods and She looks driving a chariot pulled by cats. When saddened, Freyja cries gold tears, and She wears a luminous gold necklace (alluding to some solar associations). A lot of folks in northern climes credit Her for teaching magic to mankind.

In astrology, people born under the sign of Leo are lively and full of Freyja's solar facet. And, such as Freyja, they're passionate, lively lovers. If your love life needs a pick-me-up, Freyja's your Goddess to phone on. Start with a bowl in case tomatoes and melted chocolate which you feed to your lover. Remember to nibble passionately while imagining into Freyja's sacred food! This may digest Freyja's energy for lovemaking. Of you are single, consume a few berries at breakfast to internalize self-love so more adoring opportunities come your way.

To improve love in different areas of your life (the love of friends, live for employment or job, etc.), wear gold-toned clothes or jewellery now to highlight Freyja's solar powers. This will give you more tenacity, focus and respect for anything you're putting your hands and heart into.

(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)

Freya Goddess :

In Norse mythology, Freya is a Goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death. Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot driven by two cats, owns the boar Hildisvíni, possesses a cloak of falcon feathers, and, by Her husband Óðr, is the mother of two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi. Along with Her brother Freyr, Her father Njörðr, and Her mother (Njörðr’s sister, unnamed in sources), She is a member of the Vanir. Stemming from Old Norse Freyja, modern forms of the name include Freya, Freja, Freyia, Frøya, and Freia.

Freyja rules over Her heavenly afterlife field Fólkvangr and there receives half of those that die in battle, whereas the other half go to the god Odin‘s hall, Valhalla. Within Fólkvangr is Her hall, Sessrúmnir. Freyja assists other deities by allowing them to use Her feathered cloak, is invoked in matters of fertility and love, and is frequently sought after by powerful jötnar who wish to make Her their wife. Freyja’s husband, the god Óðr, is frequently absent. She cries tears of red gold for him, and searches for him under assumed names. Freyja has numerous names, including Gefn, Hörn, Mardöll, Sýr, Valfreyja, and Vanadís.

Freyja is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; in the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, both written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century; in several Sagas of Icelanders; in the short story Sörla þáttr; in the poetry of skalds; and into the modern age in Scandinavian folklore, as well as the name for Friday in many Germanic languages.

Scholars have theorized about whether or not Freyja and the Goddess Frigg ultimately stem from a single Goddess common among the Germanic peoples; about Her connection to the valkyries, female battlefield choosers of the slain; and Her relation to other Goddesses and figures in Germanic mythology, including the thrice-burnt and thrice-reborn Gullveig/Heiðr, the Goddesses Gefjon, Skaði, Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa, Menglöð, and the 1st century BCE Isis of the Suebi. Freyja’s name appears in numerous place names in Scandinavia, with a high concentration in southern Sweden. Various plants in Scandinavia once bore Her name, but it was replaced with the name of the Virgin Mary during the process of Christianization. Rural Scandinavians continued to acknowledge Freyja as a supernatural figure into the 19th century, and Freyja has inspired various works of art. [1]

Patricia Monaghan informs us that much from the ancient Near East, home of the lustful warrior Anat, we find a Goddess who is virtually Her double: a Scandinavian mistress of all the gods who was also the ruler of death. Leader of the Valkyries, warfare's corpse-maidens, this Goddess was also the one to whom love prayers were most effectively addressed.

The Goddess who gave Her title to the sixth day of our week, Freya was one kind of this 'large-wombed ground,' a different edition of which Her people called Frigg the celestial matron. Here was how Freya appeared to Her worshipers: the most beautiful of all Goddesses, She wore a feathered cloak over Her charming amber necklace as She rode through the sky in a chariot drawn by cats, or occasionally on a massive golden-bristled boar who could have been Her own brother, the fertility god Frey.

When Freya was in Asgard, the home of the deities, She lived on Folkvangr (‘people’s plain’) in a vast palace called Sessrumnir (‘rich in seats’). She needed such a huge palace to hold the spirit hordes She claimed on the battlefields, for the first choice of the dead was Hers, with leftovers falling to Odin. Like Persephone, the Greek death queen, Freya was also the spirit of the earth’s fertility; like Persephone too, Freya was absent from earth during autumn and winter, a departure that caused the leaves to fall and the earth to wear a mourning cloak of snow. And like Hecate, an alternate form of Persephone, Freya was the Goddess of magic, the one who first brought the power of sorcery to the people of the north.

Despite Her connection with death, Freya was never a terrifying Goddess, for the Scandinavians knew She was the essence of sexuality. Utterly promiscuous, She took all the gods as Her lovers – including the wicked Loki, who mated with Her in the form of a flea – but Her special favorite was her brother Frey, recalling Anat’s selection of Her brother Ba?al as playmate. But Freya had a husband, too, an aspect of Odin named Odr; he was the father of Her daughter Hnossa (‘jewel’). When Odr left home to wander the earth, Freya shed tears of amber. But She soon followed Odr, assuming various names as She sought him: here She was Mardol, the beauty of light on water, there Horn, the linen-woman; sometimes She was Syr, the sow, other times Gefn, the generous one. But always She was ‘mistress,’ for that is the meaning of Her own name, and a particularly appropriate double entendre it proves in Her case (p. 127 – 128).

Juno Goddess - Roman Goddess and Feminine Goddess

Juno's themes are femininity, love, relationships, romance, kinship, time, protection (women and children) and direction. Goddess Juno symbols are the cypress, peacocks, cuckoos, luxury clothing, figs along with the moon (or silver things). The ultimate Goddess of the Roman pantheon, Juno offers a helping hand in every facet of our relationships, particularly the security and happiness of both women and children in those settings. Juno is also a rather contemporary minded Goddess, taking an active part in public life and finances. Beyond that, She principles women's cycles, giving Her relations with the moon. Art depicts Juno constantly wearing majestic clothing befitting the 'Queen of Heaven.'

According to Roman folklore, marrying today guarantees a long, happy relationship. So if you are arranging a wedding or an engagement, or even moving in together, Juno may emphasise that devotion if you time the significant step for now! As part of your devotional ritual, do not forget to wear specific clothes (perhaps something your partner particularly enjoys) to invoke Juno's focus and loving vitality.

If you’d like to connect with Juno’s feminine force, Her leadership skills or Her sense of timing within yourself, eat some fig-filled cookies today (or just some figs), saying,

‘Juno, bring_______to my spirit, my wish fulfill. By your power, through my will.’

FIll the black with whatever aspect of Juno you most need to develop.”

(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)

Juno Goddess History

Patricia Monaghan tells us that Juno was a very ancient Italian Goddess, [and] was originally quite different from the Greek Hera; both, however, were essentially Goddesses of women. When the Greek sky queen came to Rome during the days of cultural assimilation, She merged with the Roman Goddess and Her legends were told of Juno. Juno’s separate mythology was lost, except for the tale that, impregnated by a flower, Juno bore the god Mars – a story never told of Hera (p. 174).

In accordance with Thalia Took Juno, or to spell it the Latin manner, Iuno, is the Roman Great Goddess, the Queen of the Gods, Sky-Goddess, Protectress of Women, Mother of Mars, Wife of Jupiter, She of the many epithets and a long long history of worship in Rome. She had been among the Capitoline Triad, together with Jupiter and Minerva, Who were considered the three major Deities of Rome; She was widely worshipped among the Latins, and Her cult was also significant one of the Etruscans, who called Her Uni or Cupra. She had been an especial protectress of women in childbirth and marriage, and many of Her epithets relate to that aspect, but She might also have a more civic or defensive personality as protectress of the Roman individuals.

Juno's name could derive from an Indo-European root with connotations of vitality and youth, and if so would imply that Her aspect since Birth-Goddess is one of Her oldest. Instead, Her name may come from the Etruscan Uni, which means 'She Who Gives', and which would refer to Her capacity as a benevolent Goddess of abundance who answers the prayers of those in need.

As each man was considered to have a protective protector spirit called a genius, so every girl had one known as a juno. These guardian spirits (in the plural, junones) may have originally been the ghosts of those ancestors that were thought to watch over and guard their descendents. They were usually represented as snakes (probably relating to the chthonic or underworld facet of the Dead), and so were given offerings on the person's birthday at the family altar.

The first days of each Roman month, the calends, were sacred to Juno, as was the entire month of June, which is still named for Her. Five cities in Latium (the region of the Latin tribe) also named a month for Her: Aricia, on the Via Appia; Lanuvium, where She was worshipped as Juno Sospita (‘Juno the Saviouress’), Praeneste (modern Palestrina), Tibur (modern Tivoli, the resort town of Rome), and Laurentum, located between Lavinium and Ostia on the coast. And as Juno is the Roman Goddess of Marriage, it is no coincidence that June is still considered the proper month for weddings. [1]

One of Her most renowned names was Moneta, 'warner', that was earned many times over: once when Her sacred geese once put up such a squawking that the town had been warned of invading Gauls, another time when an earthquake threatened and Juno's voice from heaven alerted town, and finally when the underfunded Roman generals arrived to Juno's temple to get advice and were advised that any war fought ethically would discover popular (and financial) support. This last campaign made Her matron of the Roman mint, that was situated in Her temple, also turned Her title into a term for 'money'.

Most important, Juno was the Goddess of time. Daughter of Saturn, She was a symbol of the menstrual cycle as time’s indicator; Goddess of the new moon, She was worshiped by Roman women on the Calends, or first of each lunar month. In addition to these monthly celebrations, Juno was honored in two festivals: the unrestrained Nonae Caprotinae on July 7, when serving girls staged mock fights under a wild fig tree; and the more sedate Matronalia on March 1 when married women demanded money from their husbands to offer to the Goddess of womanhood (Monaghan, p. 174).

Like Jupiter, Juno was believed to have the ability to throw thunderbolts.

Also called: Junonis or Iuno.

Goddess Juno Names :

Here, then, is the index for as many of Her aspects as I could find, treated individually; they range from simply descriptive titles such as Conciliatrix that may not have had a use in Her cult, to the more important and unusual facets of Her like Curitis, all the way to separate Goddesses who were assimilated to or equated with Juno, such as the Dea Caelestis of Carthage.

Abeona, Adiona, Caelestis, Caprotina, Cinxia, Cioxia (ruler of the first undressing by the husband), Conciliatrix, Conservatrix, Cuba, Cunina, Cupra, Curiatia, Curitis, Comiduca, Dea Caelestis, Dea Statina, Domiduca,Educa, Edulica, Empanada, Februtis, Fluonia, Gamelia, Inferna, Interduca, Juga, Jugalis, Juno of Falerii, Lacinia, Lanuvina, Levana, Lucetia, Lucina, Martialis, Maturna, Matrona, Moneta, Nacio, Natalis, Nundina, Nutrix, Nuxia, Opigena, Ossipaga (who strengthens fetal bones), Panda, Perficia, Pertunda, Perusina, Populonia (Goddess of conception), Potina, Prema, Pronuba (arranger of appropriate matches), Quiritis, Regina, Rumina, Seispita, Sispes, Sororia, Sospita (the labor Goddess), Supra, Uni, Unxia, Vagitanus, Virginalis, Viriplaca (who settles arguments between spouses), Volumna. [2]

Scathach: Celtic mother and Warrior Goddess

Scathach's topics are sports, strength, excellence, kinship, art, heritage, magical, defense and success. This Celtic mother figure endows endurance, strength and the ability to 'go the distance' regardless of our situation. In Scotland She can also be a warrior Goddess who protects the territory utilizing magic as a weapon, as indicated by the translation of Her title, 'she who strikes dread.' Warriors from across Scotland have been believed to have studied under Scathach to find battle yells and leaping techniques (maybe a form of martial art).

Back in Scotland, the second weekend in July marks the gathering of Scottish clans to enjoy their legacy through countless games of skill, strength and artistry (including bagpipe contests). If you have any Scottish or Celtic music, play it while you get ready to energize your entire day together with Scathach's perseverance. If you don't have the music, for a similar effect locate something to wear with a Scottish theme, like heather cologne, a plaid tie, things bearing the image of a thistle or sheep or anything woolen.

To make a Scathach amulet to protect your home, car or any personal possessions, begin with a piece of plaid cloth and put some dried heather in it (alternatively, put in several strands of woolen yarn). Tie this up an keep it where you believe her powers are most needed.

(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)

Scáthach (pronounced scou’-ha, or skah’-thakh) is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn in the arts of combat. Texts describe her homeland as Scotland (Alpae); she is especially associated with the Isle of Skye, where her residence Dún Scáith (Fort of Shadows) stands. [1]  Other sources say she lived in the Alps.

Scathach is said to be the daughter of Ard-Greimne and Lethra. [2] Aoife, another fierce warrior queen, is reputed to be her sister, while Uathach, her daughter, is a fellow teacher at her school. She also has two sons named Cet and Cuar from an unnamed man and trains them within a secret yew tree. Another source tells that she is mother to three maidens named Lasair, Inghean Bhuidhe and Latiaran, the father being a man named Douglas. [3]

Patricia Monaghan tells us that Scathach, the 'shadowy one', dwelt on an island nearby Scotland and has been the best female warrior of her time. Heroes from all of the Celtic nations would travel to research with her, for she alone understood the magic battle abilities that made them unconquerable: great leaps and ferocious yells, which appear in historical legend like puzzled reports of Oriental martial arts.

Scathach initiated young men into the arts of war, as well as giving them the ‘friendship of her thighs’, that is to say, initiating them sexually. [4]

One of her most famous students was the Irish warrior Cú Chulainn. When the princess Emer sized him up as a possible husband, she thought him too unskilled in his profession; therefore, she suggested he study with Scathach, the foremost warrior of her day. While Cú Chulainn was away, he learned more than martial arts, for through an affair with Scathach’s enemy, Aífe, the warrior produced a son [Connla] whom he late unwittingly killed (p. 275).

Another account states that As part of his training Cú Chulainn helped Scáthach overcome a neighbouring female chieftain, Aífe or Aoife (who by some accounts was also Scáthach’s sister), and forced her to make peace, in the process fathering a son by Aífe. Cú Chulainn also ended up sleeping with Scáthach’s daughter Uathach, whose husband Cochar Croibhe he then killed in a duel. On completion of his training, Scáthach also slept with Cú Chulainn.

By some accounts Scáthach was also a formidable magician with the gift of prophecy. She also, again by some accounts, became the Celtic Goddess of the dead, ensuring the passage of those killed in battle to Tír na nÓg, the Land of Eternal Youth and the most popular of the Otherworlds in Celtic mythology. [5]

Goddess Durga - The Hindu warrior Goddess with many forms

Durga's topics are power over evil and negativity, knowledge and sustenance. Durga's symbols are flame, yellow-colored items, lions, rice bowls and spoons. The Hindu warrior Goddess Durga is generally depicted as a gorgeous girl with ten arms that bear divine firearms to safeguard all that is sacred -- for example you. Her function in Indian mythology is so strong that the national anthem sings Her praises as a guardian. According to the stories, Durga overpowered the fantastic demon who threatened to destroy not only the earth but the gods themselves.

Durga's festival (Durga puja or Durgotsava) comes during the first autumn, once the heavens are growing darker. As this happens, she offers to zealously defend goodness against any malevolence that resides in these figurative shadows. When there is a special person or job that you want protected, pray for Durga's help now. Light a yellow candle (or some other candle) and say:

‘Durga, protectress and guardian

Watch over (person, situation or project)

with all due diligence

Take the sword of truth

the power of justice

and the light of decency

to stand guard against any storms that come

So be it.’

Blow out the candle and relight it anytime you need safety.

To encourage Durga’s providence, set a bowl of rice on your altar with a spoon today. This is the symbol of Annapoorna, an aspect of Durga who supplies daily food.”

(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)

“All of Goddesses in Hindu belief are ultimately the exact same Goddess, frequently called simply 'the Goddess' or 'Devi.' But She looks in various forms with different names. One of the fiercest of Devi's kinds is Durga. She was also the eldest: throughout the primordial war between gods and antigods, Durga was the initial manifestation of Goddess-energy. The war proved to be a standoff; neither side was winning, along with the battles dragged on without victory. Almost impossible, the gods gathered and focused their energies. Flames sprang from their mouths and shaped Durga, the first female divinity from the universe. Although produced by the gods, the Goddess was stronger than any of these, or most of them together, and She had been fiercely eager to fight.

Recognizing Her power, the gods given their weapons to Durga. She mounted a lion to ride toward the antigods' chief, the demon Mahisa. That magical being, terrified of this new apparition, used his powers to presume one fearsome type after another. Nevertheless the Goddess innovative, until eventually, as the demon assumed the form of a buffalo, Durga slaughtered him. The demon nonetheless tried to escape through the dying monster's mouth, but Durga captured him by the hair and butchered him, thereby freeing the ground for the gods to occupy.

The Goddess in this form not only symbolizes the fierce power of the combat against evil but also the rule of the intellectual sphere, for Durga (‘unapproachable’) represents the end of all things; to seek to understand Her is to engage in the most powerful intellectual exploration possible” (Monaghan, p. 106 – 107).

Shri Gyan Rajhans clarifies the Mother Goddess Durga and Her symbolism: The word 'Durga' in Sanskrit means a fort, or a location that's challenging to overrun. Another meaning of 'Durga' is 'Durgatinashini,' which literally translates into 'the one who eliminates sufferings.' Thus, Hindus consider that Goddess Durga protects Her devotees in the evils of the world and at precisely the same time removes their miseries.

The Many Forms of Goddess Durga

There are many incarnations of Durga: Kali, Bhagvati, Bhavani, Ambika, Lalita, Gauri, Kandalini, Java, Rajeswari, et al.. Durga incarnated because the combined power of all celestial beings, who offered Her the essential physical attributes and weapons to kill the demon 'Mahishasur'. Her two appellations are Skondamata, Kusumanda, Shailaputri, Kaalratri, Brahmacharini, Maha Gauri, Katyayani, Chandraghanta and Siddhidatri.

Durga’s Many Arms

Durga is depicted as having eight or ten hands. These represent eight quadrants or ten directions in Hinduism. This suggests that She protects the devotees from all directions.

Durga’s Three Eyes

Like Shiva, Mother Durga is also referred to as ‘Triyambake’ meaning the three eyed Goddess. The left eye represents desire (the moon), the right eye represents action (the sun), and the central eye knowledge (fire).

Durga’s Vehicle – the Lion

The lion represents power, will and decision. Mother Durga riding the lion symbolizes Her hands over all these qualities. This indicates to the devotee that one has to possess all these qualities to get over the demon of self.

Durga’s Many Weapons

• The conch shell in Durga’s hand symbolizes the ‘Pranava’ or the mystic word ‘Om’, which indicates Her holding on to God in the form of sound.
• The bow and arrows represent energy. By holding both the bow and arrows in one hand ‘Mother Durga’ is indicating Her control over both aspects of energy – potential and kinetic.
• The thunderbolt signifies firmness. The devotee of Durga must be firm like thunderbolt in one’s convictions. Like the thunderbolt that can break anything against which it strikes, without being affected itself, the devotee needs to attack a challenge without losing his confidence.
• The lotus in Durga’s hand is not in fully bloomed, It symbolizing certainty of success but not finality. The lotus in Sanskrit is called ‘pankaja’ which means born of mud. Thus, lotus stands for the continuous evolution of the spiritual quality of devotees amidst the worldly mud of lust and greed.
• The ‘Sudarshan-Chakra’ or beautiful discus, which spins around the index finger of the Goddess, while not touching it, signifies that the entire world is subservient to the will of Durga and is at Her command. She uses this unfailing weapon to destroy evil and produce an environment conducive to the growth of righteousness.
• The sword that Durga holds in one of Her hands symbolizes knowledge, which has the sharpness of a sword. Knowledge which is free from all doubts, is symbolized by the shine of the sword.
• Durga’s trident or ‘trishul’ is a symbol of three qualities – Satwa (inactivity), Rajas (activity) and Tamas (non-activity) – and she is remover of all the three types of miseries – physical, mental and spiritual.

Goddess Kwan/Gwan/Quan Yin - Goddess of Mercy & Compassion

Kwan Yin's topics are kids, kindness, magic, fertility and health. Kwan Yin is the most beloved of all Eastern Goddess characters, providing openly Her unending sympathy, fertility, health and magic insight to all who ask. It is Her sacred responsibility to ease suffering and promote enlightenment among people. In Eastern mythology, a rainbow bore Kwan Yin to heaven in human form. Her name means 'regarder of sounds', meaning She hears the cries and prayers of the planet. There's so many people searching on the google, looking for this Goddess.

If you would like to have children or wish to invoke Kwan Yin's blessing and protection on the young ones in your life, you can follow Eastern custom and leave an offering for Kwan Yin of sweet cakes, lotus incense, fresh fruit or blossoms. If you can not locate lotus incense, search for lotus-shaped soaps at novelty or import stores. For literal or figurative fertility, try making this Kwan Yin talisman: During a waxing-to-full moon, then take a pinch of black tea along with a pinch of rice and put them in a yellow cloth, saying:

‘As a little tea makes a full cup

so may my life be full

As the rice expands in warm water

so may my heart expand with love and warmth

The fertility of Kwan Yin, wrapped neatly within.’

Tie this up and keep it in a spot that corresponds to the type of fertility you want (such as the bedroom for physical fertility).”

(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)

“The Goddess Kwan Yin is known as the Goddess of Mercy and Her specialization is empathy, and Goddess Gwan Yin, Also Goddess Quan Yin for She knew all about distress. In Her very first life in India She was born as a man named Avalokitesvara, who sought to help poor lost souls be reborn to a better life in their journey to enlightenment. However he was overrun and anguished when more lost souls kept coming from what seemed an infinite cycle. In his despair he shattered into a million bits. From his remains they formed him as a girl, a Goddess -- more appropriate for attracting compassion and mercy to the planet, they believed.

They gave Her a thousand arms and eyes in the palms of each of Her hands so that She'd always observe the people's distress and be in a position to reach out to encircle them. They then shipped Her back to ground to do Her work. So successful was She at reassuring the public, that word of Her began to disperse to other lands and other religions. 'We need Her here,' the people cried.

And so She went, reincarnating Herself wherever She was needed. Known by many names and stories in many places, She was revered as a Buddhist deity and then a Taoist one.”

In Chinese tradition, Kwan Yin ('She Who Hears the Prayers of the World') was initially the mother Goddess of China, who proved so popular She had been adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as a bodhisattva (much like the Goddess Bride was made a saint). A bodhisattva is someone that has attained enlightenment but chooses to forgo Nirvana and remain in the world to help others attain enlightenment.”

Before She turned into a bodhisattva, Kwan Yin was a princess named Miao Shan. "At the time of Miao shan's conception the queen, Pao-ying, dreamed that she swallowed the moon. When the time came for your child to be born, the entire earth quaked, and terrific odor and heavenly flowers were spread near and far. The people of the nation were astounded. At birth She was fresh and clean without being washed. Her holy marks were tight and majestic, Her figure has been coated with many-colored clouds. The people said that these were signs of this incarnation of a sacred person.

Even though the parents believed that phenomenal, their hearts were corrupt, and thus they detested Her. As Miao Shan, She had been rejected at dawn and mistreated by a father who had wanted a son. He sought to wed Her off, but She refused, just wanting to be a nun. She endured many trials, but finally Her father relented and She had been allowed to pursue her dream of spiritual life and dedicated Her life into Buddhism. But Her suffering did not end there. Her vengeful dad even hired a man to kill Her, but She forgave him. Ultimately, Her amazing love and mercy saved his life and reconciled Her parent's to Her divinity.

“Since the still-popular mother Goddess of China, Kwan Yin is called a fantastic healer that can cure all ills. She is also a Goddess of fertility, and is often shown carrying a kid. Within this aspect She is called Sung-tzu niang-niang, "The Lady Who Brings Children". She is shown holding a crystal vase, pouring out the waters of creation. Simply calling Her name in time of crisis is believed to give deliverance..”

Guanyin can be admired by Chinese Taoists (occasionally called Daoists) as an Immortal. However, in Taoist mythology, Guanyin has other origination stories that are not directly related to Avalokiteśvara. She's known as the Goddess Tara in the Himalayas and Mazu in Her incarnation as the Goddess of the Southern Seas, but She is best known by Her Chinese name, Kwan Yin (also spelled Kuan Yin), the Goddess of Compassion.

Depicted in statues and paintings, the Goddess Kwan Yin often appears as a calm, gentle woman of middle-age who radiates serenity. She is sometimes referred to as an Asian madonna.” 

“Some syncretic Buddhist and Christian observers have Remarked on the similarity between Guanyin and Mary of Christianity, the mother of Jesus Christ. This is sometimes credited to the representation of Guanyin holding a young child in Chinese art and sculpture; it is thought that Guanyin is your patron saint of mothers and grants parents filial children. When the Tzu-Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese Buddhist company, observed that the similarity between this Kind of Guanyin and the Virgin Mary, the organization commissioned a portrait of Guanyin and a baby which looks like the Standard Roman Catholic Madonna and Child painting. 

Some Chinese of This overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Philippines, in an act of syncretism, have identified Guanyin with the Virgin Mary. Throughout the Edo Period in Japan, when Christianity was prohibited and punishable by death, some underground Christian groups venerated the Virgin Mary disguised as a part of Kannon; these statues are known as Maria Kannon. Many needed a cross hidden in an inconspicuous location.”

Goddess Kwan Yin Symbols :

• the color white
• white flowing robes
• white lotus blossom
• avase of dew/nectar
• fish (carp) & oysters
• rice-cakes
• oranges
• garlic
• six arms or a thousand
• eight heads, one sitting atop the next
• eyes on the palms of the hands
• peacocks
• vase of dew
• willow branches
• jade and pearls
• the number 33
• a boat made of bark
• blossoming flowers
• the Hou (a mythological creature resembling the Buddhist lion)
• a rosary in one hand or a book

Names of the Goddess :

• Kuan Yin (Kwan Yin. Guan Yin, Guan Shih Yin, Quan Yin, Guanyin, Kuanin)
• Avalokitesvara
• Mazu, A-ma, Matsu
• Goddess of the Southern Sea
• Kwannon (Japan)
• the Asian Santa Maria
• One Who Hears the Cries of the World
• Sung-Tzu-Niang-Niang
• (Lady Who Brings Children)
• The Maternal Goddess
• The Observer of All Sounds
• Bodhisattava of Compassion
• The Thousand-hand Kuanyin

Goddess Kali - The Hindu Goddess With the story behind it

Kali's topics are rebirth, cycles, joy, courage, hope, cleansing and alter. Her symbols are blossoms, dancing, iron, swords, peacock feathers and honey. Kali, a Hindu Goddess whose name means 'time', is that the genetrix of natural forces that either build or destroy. In destruction, nevertheless, She reminds us that great really could come of bad situations. If you find your hopes and dreams are crushed, Goddess Kali can alter the cycle and produce life out of nothingness. Where there is sorrow, She dances to deliver joy. Where there is fear, She awakens in courage.

During the Festival of Shiva, or Maha Shivratri, Hindus gather at Shiva's temples to honor this heavenly dance of production, and Kali dances together in spirit. Beforehand, they quickly and bathe in holy waters for purification. Doing equally (in your tub or shower) will purge your body and spirit of unwanted impacts. Insert some flower petals or candy perfume tot the bath to invoke Kali's power. To Combine Kali's assistance in bringing new life to stagnant projects or destroyed goals, leave her an offering of honey or blossoms, and also make this Kali amulet: Take any dark fabric and wrap it around a flower dabbed with a drop of honey, saying:

‘Kali, turn, dance, and change
Fate rearrange
End the devastation and strife
what was dead return to life.’

Carry this with you until the situation changes, then bury it with thankfulness.”

(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)

Who will comprehend the Divine Paradox of Mother Kali? Fierce, black in color, large, shimmering eyes, damaging, triumphantly smiling amidst the slaughter of billions of demons, wearing a necklace of skulls and a skirt of severed arms, luminous effulgently like the moon at the night sky, holding the head of a demon, a Trident that cries like lightning and a knife etched with holy mantras and infused with Divine Shakti, Kali stands calm and material, suffused with all the fragrances of jasmine, rose and sandalwood!

Goddess Kali is equated with all the eternal night, is the transcendent power of time, and is the consort of the god Shiva. It is believed that its Shiva who destroys the world, and Kali is the energy or power with which Shiva acts. Therefore, Kali is Shiva's Shakti, without which Shiva could not act. Frequently, those not comprehending Her many roles in life call Kali the Goddess of death and destruction. It's partly correct to say Kali is a Goddess of departure, but She brings the death of the ego as the illusory self-centered view of reality. Nowhere in the Hindu stories is She observed killing anything but demons nor is She associated specifically with the process of human dying like the Hindu god Yama (who really is the god of death). It is correct that both Kali and Shiva are said to inhabit cremation grounds and devotees often go to these places to meditate. This isn't to worship death but rather it's to overcome the I-am-the-body idea by reinforcing the awareness that the body is a temporary condition. Shiva and Kali are said to inhabit these places because it's our attachment to the body which gives rise to the self. Shiva and Kali grant liberation by removing the illusion of the self. That is underscored by the scene of the cremation grounds.

According to Hindu myth, The Goddess Kali is an incarnation of Parvati. She supposed this form so as to vanquish the demon Raktabija, whose name means "the seed of blood". The gods couldn't kill the demon Raktabija because he'd received from Brahma the blessing of being born anew a one thousand times more powerful than before, every time a drop of his blood was shed. Every drop of the blood that touched the floor transformed itself into a different and more potent Raktabija. In a few minutes of striking this demon the entire battlefield covered with countless Raktabija clones. In grief, the gods turned to Shiva. But Shiva was lost in meditation in the time and the gods were reluctant to disturb him. Hence they pleaded with his consort Parvati for Her assistance.

The Goddess immediately set out to do battle with this dreaded demon in the form of Kali or “the Black One”. Her eyes were red, Her complexion was dark, Her features gaunt, Her hair unbound, and Her teeth sharp just like fangs. As Kali came into do conflict, Raktabija experienced fear for the first time in his demonic heart. Kali ordered the gods to attack Raktabija. She subsequently disperse Her tongue to pay the battle preventing even a single drop of Raktabija's blood from falling on the bunch. Therefore, She prevented Raktabija from reproducing himself and the gods were able to subdue the demon. Another form of the legend claims that Kali pierced Raktabija using a spear, and at once stuck Her lips into the wound to drink all the blood as it gushed from the body, thus preventing Raktabija from replicating himself.

Drunk on Raktabija's blood, Kali ran throughout the cosmos killing anyone who dared cross Her path. She adorned herself with the heads, limbs and entrails of her own victim. The gods were seeing the balance of the universe being shattered. As a last resort they had to rouse Shiva out of his meditation. To pacify Her, Shiva threw himself under Her feet. This ceased the Goddess. She calmed down, adopted Her husband, shed Her ferocious form to eventually become Gauri, "the Fair one". Kali intends Her bloody deeds and jealousy for the security of the great. She may get carried off by Her gruesome actions but She isn't bad. Kali's damaging energies on the highest level are regarded as a vehicle of salvation and eventual transformation. She destroys only to recreate, and what She destroys is sin, ignorance and decay. The Goddess Kali is represented as black in colour. The Goddess Kali is represented as black in colour. Black in the ancient Hindu language of Sanskrit is kaala --the female form is kali -- therefore She is Kali, the black person. Black is a sign of The Infinite and the seed stage of all colors. The Goddess Kali remains in a state of inconceivable darkness that transcends words and thoughts. Inside Her blackness is the amazing brilliance of illumination. Kali's blackness symbolizes Her all-embracing, comprehensive nature, because black is the color where all the colours merge; black absorbs and dissolves them.

Kali's nudity has strong significance. Oftentimes She is called garbed in space or sky clad. In Her absolute, primordial nakedness She is free from all covering of illusion. She is Nature (Prakriti in Sanskrit), stripped of 'clothes'. It symbolizes that She is completely beyond name and form, completely beyond the consequences of maya (illusion). Her nudity is believed to represent totally illumined consciousness, unaffected by maya. Kali is the glowing fire of fact, which cannot be concealed by the clothes of ignorance. Such truth simply burns them away.

She's full-breasted; Her motherhood is a ceaseless invention. Her disheveled hair forms a curtain of illusion, the fabric of space -- time which organizes matter out of this chaotic sea of quantum-foam. Her garland of fifty human heads, each representing one of the fifty letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, signifies the repository of wisdom and wisdom. She's a girdle of severed human hands -- hands that are the primary tools of work and so signify the action of karma. Hence the binding effects of the karma have been overcome, severed, as it were, by loyalty to Kali. She has blessed the devotee by clipping him free from the cycle of karma. Her white teeth are symbolic of purity (Sans. Sattva), along with Her lolling tongue that is red dramatically depicts the fact that She absorbs everything and denotes the action of tasting or enjoying what society sees as forbidden (i.e.. Her indiscriminate enjoyment of all of the world's "flavors").

Kali's four arms represent the complete circle of destruction and creation, which is contained within her. She reflects the inherent dangerous and creative rhythms of the cosmos. Her right hands, which makes the mudras of "fear not" and conferring boons, signify the creative aspect of Kali, while the left hands, holding a bloodied sword and a severed head represent Her damaging aspect. The sword is the sword of knowledge, that cuts the knots of ignorance and destroys false familiarity (the severed head). Kali opens the gates of freedom with this blade, having cut the eight bonds that bind human beings.

Eventually Her three eyes represent the sun, moon, and fire, with which She is able to observe the three modes of time: past, present and future. This attribute is also the source of the title Kali, that's the female form of 'Kala', the Sanskrit term for Time. Kali is regarded as the most fully realized of all of the Dark Goddesses, a great and strong black earth Mother Goddess capable of horrible destruction and represents the most effective form of the female forces in the Universe. Worship of the Goddess Kali is largely an effort to appease Her and avert Her anger.

Her followers gave her offerings of blood and flesh, which was important in Her worship, just as blood sacrifice was significant in worship of the ancient Biblical God, who commanded that the blood must be poured on his alters (Exodus 29:16) for the remission of sins (Numbers 18:9). As mistress of blood, She presides over the puzzles of the life and death. No matter Her followers still found Her to be a potent warrior Goddess and discovered Her greatest strength to be that of a guardian.

Kali isn't always considered as a Dark Goddess. Despite Kali's origins in battle, She evolved into a full-fledged emblem of Mother Nature in Her creative, nurturing and devouring aspects. Many groups of people, unfamiliar with all the precepts of Hinduism, visit Kali as a satanic demon probably due to tales of her being worshipped by dacoits and other similar people indulging evil acts. By not knowing the story behind Mother Kali it is easy to misinterpret Her iconography.

In exactly the exact same manner one can say that Christianity is a religion of death, destruction and cannibalism where the practitioners drink the blood of Jesus and eat his flesh. Of course, we know this is not the proper comprehension of the communion ritual. Rather, She is known as a great and loving primordial Mother Goddess in the Hindu tantric tradition. In this regard, as Mother Goddess, She is Known as Kali Ma, meaning Kali Mother, and countless Hindus revere Her as such.

Of all of the kinds of Devi, She is the very compassionate because She supplies moksha or liberation for Her children. She is the counterpart of Shiva the destroyer. The ego sees Mother Kali and trembles with dread since the ego sees in Her its own eventual death. Someone who is attached to her or his ego will not be receptive to Mother Kali and she'll appear in a fearsome type. A mature soul who participates in religious practice to remove the illusion of the ego sees Mother Kali as quite sweet, affectionate, and filled up with incomprehensible love for Her children.

Goddess Lilith and Lilith Symbol - The explanation in detail

Lilith's topics are liberty, courage, playfulness, passion, pleasure and sexuality. Lilith symbol is an apple. In Hebrew legends, Lilith is a dangerously beautiful Goddess who refused to weak Herself into Adam, believing She was created as an equivalent. This makes Lilith possibly the first true liberationist, and She resolves to create modern life similarly equal for all people. She also boldly instructs us to stand up for what we believe in, unbridled and courageous, no matter the cost. According to legend, Lilith was turned away from paradise for Her 'crime', and She has been depicted in art as a demon.

Leap Year occurs every four years to keep our calendar in sync with the solar calendar year. Customarily, women break loose today, asking guys out or telling union. In the modern liberal society, actions such as this are not overly surprising. Nonetheless, Lilith charges us with the duty of ever searching after equality, not only for women but for all of earth's people. If there's someone you've wronged with presupposition or bias, make amends today.

To internalize Lilith's fairness, bravery, or exuberant lustiness, eat an apple now. Quite literally take a bite out of life, and revel in some daring activity to its fullest without guilt or fear.

Like Lilith, you are the master of your destiny!
(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)

Lilith dates back into the bird-serpent Goddess of all antiquity. In Sumeria, She had been portrayed as with both the claws and wings of a bird. Some reliefs reveal Her lower half as being the body of a serpent or She is shown as a serpent with the head and breasts of a woman. There are many possibilities as to Her ancient Goddess names: Belil-ili, Belili, Lillake, or Ninlil. She was a Goddess of agriculture in Addition to the "hand of Inanna". She was said to live in the trunk of this Huluppu-tree:

‘Then a serpent that couldn't be charmed
Made its nest in the roots of the huluppu-tree.
The Anzu-bird put his young in the branches of the tree.
And the dark maid Lilith built her home in the back.’
Lilith also helped women in childbirth and nursed infants.
Recent translations of Her name are varied and range from ‘screech owl’, lilah which is darkness or night in Hebrew, to Lilitu which is said to be the Babylonian word for ‘evil night-spirit.’
Her symbols are the crossroad, owl, serpent, tree, and dark moon.

The Hebrew Lilith

When Jewish patriarchy overtook the territory, they made Lilith evil so as to stop the people from worshipping Her. In Kabbalistic tradition, Lilith has been forced the first wife of Adam. Some sources say that Lilith was Adam's soul wife. Other sources claim that Lilith was fashioned from the ground at either the same time as Adam or before Adam. This created Lilith Adam's equal. As Adam's equal, Lilith refused to lie on Her back while Adam took the dominant position in sex (missionary style). Lilith believed that they ought to make love as equals (the beast with two backs). Adam was adamantly against this, desiring his wife to be submissive, and Lilith left the Garden of Eden.

God then supposedly gave Adam Eve, a docile girl of the flesh. Finally, Lilith was portrayed as the foe of Eve. It was Lilith in serpent type who seduced Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge. No doubt the very first wife wanted the second wife to determine what a jerk Adam was and that Lilith also wanted Eve to open her eyes and come back in the fulness of herself, her womanhood. In this time, Lilith was believed to have induced nocturnal emissions from Adam (night hag). These children of Lilith were called Lilin or even Lilim, 'night-demons.'

The Goddess who formerly protected mothers and infants was now portrayed as a demoness who headed abortions and killed babies in their sleep. The Jewish people felt that when a baby laughed or smiled in its sleep, it had been amused by Lilith, and the parents would quickly bop the infant on the nose to divert the infant from the Goddess. It was also believed that She arrived to kids in the shape of an owl and drank their blood.

Despite the Jewish efforts to erradicate this ancient Goddess, She can nevertheless be found in Her truer, albeit symbolic, shape in their own literature: 'During a very long and dangerous confinement take ground in the crossroads, write upon it the five first verses of this Psalm, and put it upon the belly of the parturient; let it remain until the arrival is achieved, but no longer...

Lilith and Sexuality

Goddess Lilith, as 'hand of Inanna,' would collect men from the streets and direct them to the temples of the sacred prostitutes. Instead She chose to have sex with "evil" spirits and beget more demons. (Who could blame Her?) Lilith was comfortable with Her sexuality, something which terrified that the Jewish patriarch who thought that only having sex for enjoyment was a form of abortion. Recently, Lilith has morphed to the succubus and incubus or the night hag who sits on the chests of men and causes them to have perverse dreams so that they will ejaculate. She could take the Kind of either a man or a woman:

‘. . .who appear to mankind, to men in the likeness of women, and to women in the likeness of men, and with men they lie by night and by day.’

Men dread Lilith because She knows the power of Her sexuality and She knows that Her heritage has power over guys. Much like Circe, She turns men into beasts or pigs by opening the doors to their deep and primal sexual desires. Such desires are prohibited by the Jewish and Christian cults. Women, who are like the submissive Eve, also fear Lilith because of the power She holds. However, as has been shown in the myth of the garden of Eden, Lilith isn't an enemy of womankind. She retains the ancient fruit of knowledge, the secrets of the deepest sexual nature, and She is prepared to offer you this fruit to us.